Method and system for automatically initiating a telecommunications connection based on distance

ABSTRACT

A method and system for connecting proximately located telecommunications units are disclosed. The method and system may be used in a location aware telecommunications system that can determine the location of a telecommunications unit (TU) being used within the system. A user of a mobile telecommunications unit (MU) is connected to a TU when the MU is within a predetermined distance of a predetermined geographic location meeting predefined criteria. The TU to which the MU is connected may be automated or manually operated. In some embodiments, multiple MUs are connected when they are within a predetermined proximity to each other and a predefined criteria is met.

This application claims priority to provisional U.S. application Ser.No. 60/210,682, filed Jun. 10, 2000, provisional U.S. application Ser.No. 60/210,691, filed Jun. 10, 2000, provisional U.S. application Ser.No. 60/214,197, filed Jun. 26, 2000, and provisional U.S. applicationSer. No. 60/216,721, filed Jul. 7, 2000, each of which is hereinincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to mobile telecommunications systems. Inparticular, aspects of the invention relate to methods and systems forautomatically and/or selectively initiating communications among mobileusers in a telecommunications system that has the ability to determine ageographic location of mobile users.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Mobile telecommunication units (MUs) such as cell phones and otherrelated devices have become a pervasive part of our culture. Throughoutthe several years that MUs have been in widespread use, they have beentreated largely as a movable version of a standard telephone. Inparticular, a main objective of current systems has been to hide thefact that the user of the MU is in fact mobile, by providing a standardtelephone number for reaching the MU regardless of location. Thus, MUsare typically used in a manner so as to conceal the location of themobile user to make it appear to the outside world that the unit is atraditional stationary unit (SU). Similarly, when telecommunicationsystem users (users) place phone calls using MUs, they dial traditionaltelephone numbers as if they were in their home location, making callplacement appear to users of MUs as if they were in their home cities,regardless of their actual location.

Of course the approximate location of an MU is always known to thetelecommunication infrastructure in the form of which cell base stationthe MU is communicating with (e.g., as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,561(Alanara et al.)). A prime motivation for being able to access suchinformation is to determine the location of MU users who place calls toEmergency-911 call centers or are otherwise in distress. In order toimprove the effectiveness of Emergency-911 services in particular, moreaccurate position information is being made available via thetelecommunication infrastructure. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,067,045(Castelloe et al.) teaches the use of combining Global PositioningSystem (GPS) information with a telecommunication infrastructure toaccurately determine the position of an MU, whereas U.S. Pat. No.6,055,434 (Seraj) teaches the use of low powered beacons scatteredthroughout MU usage areas. But, regardless of the technology used, theend result is that telecommunication systems are rapidly being providedwith an ability to accurately determine the geographic location of anindividual MU.

In conventional telecommunication systems, a telephone call is initiatedby having one user dial a number to establish a connection with anotheruser. Recent technology trends have evolved the notion of establishing aconnection to become more sophisticated using, for example, a monitor ofa stock price to send a paging message when there is a price change.However, these other ways of establishing connections do not take intoaccount the location of the person either establishing the connection orthe location of the person with whom the connection is beingestablished.

These other ways of establishing connections also do not take intoaccount the inter-relationships of people. For example, an acquaintancegraph may be used to illustrate social connections between individuals.An example of a portion of an acquaintance graph is shown in FIG. 13.Nodes on the graph represent individuals and arcs indicate that theindividuals are acquaintances, or that they have met one another.

The number of degrees of separation, or “hops” on a social acquaintancegraph between two individuals, generally tends to be a small number. Putanother way, if the network of friends and acquaintances of every personwere drawn out into a single large acquaintance graph as a set of nodes(people) and arcs (personal relationships), it would not take very manyarc traversals through the network to get from any one individual toanother. This concept is often attributed to Samuel Morse, the inventorof the telegraph, in the form of the statement that there are only sixdegrees of separation between any two people. This notion was beingexploited by the web site www.sixdegrees.com, before its demise on Dec.31, 2000.

While the notion of degrees of separation freedom is frequently cast inthe form of determining a minimum-hop path via an acquaintance graph fortwo predetermined people, it also has relevance in that for any randomlyselected group of people it would seem likely that there areacquaintance graph paths shorter than length six present (i.e., whilesix hops tends to connect any two people, many people can be connectedin fewer hops). In particular, if the group is selected based on commoncharacteristics, interests, or geographic location, there may be shortacquaintance graph paths that pass through shared clubs, alumniorganizations, civic groups, or the like. However, acquaintance graphsare not presently being used to initiate connections between mobileusers.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect of the invention, there is a method for automaticallyinitiating a connection with a mobile telecommunications unit (MU). Themethod includes the step of creating a connection between an MU and atelecommunications unit (TU) associated with a predetermined geographiclocation when the MU is within a predetermined distance of thepredetermined geographic location, wherein the predetermined geographiclocation is selected based at least in part on an attribute associatedwith a user of the MU.

In another embodiment, there is a method for automatically connectingproximately located telecommunication units (TU). The method includesthe step of connecting a first

TU to at least one other TU when the first and at least one other TUsare within a first predetermined distance of each other and are within asecond predetermined distance of a predetermined geographic location.

In a second aspect of the invention, there is a computer readable mediumfor automatically initiating a connection with a mobiletelecommunications unit (MU) comprising stored computer readableinstructions that, when executed by a processor, cause a computingdevice to perform the step of creating a connection between an MU and atelecommunications unit (TU) associated with a predetermined geographiclocation when the MU is within a predetermined distance of thepredetermined geographic location, wherein the predetermined geographiclocation is selected based at least in part on an attribute associatedwith a user of the MU.

In another embodiment, there is a computer readable medium forautomatically connecting proximately located telecommunication units(TU), comprising stored computer readable instructions that, whenexecuted by a processor, cause a computing device to perform the step ofconnecting a first TU to at least one other TU when the first and atleast one other TUs are within a first predetermined distance of eachother and are within a second predetermined distance of a predeterminedgeographic location.

In a third aspect of the invention, there is a system for automaticallyinitiating a connection with a mobile telecommunications unit (MU). Thesystem includes a processor, and memory for storing computer readableinstructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system toperform the step of creating a connection between an MU and atelecommunications unit (TU) associated with a predetermined geographiclocation when the MU is within a predetermined distance of thepredetermined geographic location, wherein the predetermined geographiclocation is selected based at least in part on an attribute associatedwith a user of the MU.

In another embodiment, there is a system for automatically connectingproximately located telecommunication units (TU). The system includes aprocessor, and memory for storing computer readable instructions that,when executed by the processor, cause the system to perform the step ofconnecting a first TU to at least one other TU when the first and atleast one other TU are within a first predetermined distance of eachother and are within a second predetermined distance of a predeterminedgeographic location.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a location-aware telecommunication system containingboth mobile units and stationary units;

FIG. 2 illustrates a telecommunication transceiver which is capable ofinitiating connections selective to distance information;

FIG. 3 illustrates a telecommunication infrastructure which has accessto a customer information database that contains location information ofvarious users;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart for establishing a grouptelecommunication connection responsive to a list of potential calleesstored in a telecommunication unit;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart for establishing a grouptelecommunication connection responsive to a list of potential calleesstored in a database within a telecommunications infrastructure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a simplified telecommunication system and includesdetails of a matchmaker apparatus;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart for establishing a telecommunicationconnection responsive to attribute profile information and distanceinformation;

FIG. 8 illustrates telecommunication transceivers, telecommunicationinfrastructure, and components of a connection creation service;

FIG. 9 illustrates a flow chart for a method of establishing atelecommunication connection responsive to a user being in a specificlocation;

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow chart for a method of establishing atelecommunication connection responsive to the distance between twousers;

FIG. 11 illustrates a simplified telecommunication system and includesdetails of a connection service apparatus; and

FIG. 12 illustrates a flow chart for establishing a telecommunicationconnection responsive to degree of separation information and distanceinformation.

FIG. 13 illustrates an acquaintance graph.

DEFINITIONS

Acquaintance Graph: an undirected graph in which nodes are people (orfictional persons such as groups or corporations) and arcs are placedbetween nodes whenever the two people corresponding to the nodes beingjoined by an arc can be said to know each other (meaning that they arefriends, acquaintances, relatives, business associates, etc.)

Connection: a data transfer path among a plurality of TUs. This datatransfer path can be used for voice, data, or any other purpose known inthe art. It may be a continuous, “circuit switched” connection oremulation thereof, or it may be a packetized or even one-time datatransfer connection. A connection may encompass any and all modalitiesof data transfer between TUs. This includes, for example, voice phonecalls, video phone calls, digital camera picture transfers, generalmultimedia data transfers, television feeds, movies, e-mail, voice mail,short message service (“SMS”), prerecorded messages, data to createsynthesized/reconstructed voice messages, map information, geographiccoordinate data, World Wide Web content and World Wide Web pointers.There are many types of data that can be transferred, and the term“connection” may apply to anything that can be transferred over atelecommunication system.

Call: any instantiation of a CONNECTION to a TU.

Callee: a TU that is added to a connection responsive to a caller havinginitiated creation of that connection, or responsive to an automaticinstantiation of a connection between two or more callers.

Caller: a TU that requests creation of a connection.

Degree of Separation: the minimum number of arcs that must be traversedin a graph to get from one user (node) to another user (node).

MU (Mobile Unit): a mobile telecommunication transmitter, transceiver,or receiver capable of supporting a connection. Typically connectedusing wireless links. Examples include cell phones, pagers, wireless webbrowsers, personal digital assistants, and laptop/handheld/wearablecomputers.

SU (Stationary Unit): a non-mobile telecommunication transmitter,transceiver, or receiver capable of supporting a connection. Typicallyconnected using wire or fiber links. TU (Telecommunication Unit): atelecommunication transmitter, transceiver, or receiver that is generic,encompassing both MUs and SUs (i.e., a generic term when the distinctionbetween MU or SU is irrelevant).

User: a generic term for caller, callee, or TU whether or not it isinvolved in a connection.

A TU may be associated with a person (hence the term “user”), but mayalso be an automated system connected to the telecommunicationinfrastructure. Also, while descriptions generally refer to a “user”being a person or entity possessing a single TU, it is possible for oneperson or entity to possess multiple TUs, and for TUs to be associatedwith non-persons such as computers running automated software, vehicles,and the like.

The term “user” is meant to be illustrative and not limiting.

The terms “telecommunication infrastructure” and “telecommunicationsystem” and similar terms are to be interpreted as broadly as possiblewithin the known art. In particular, such approaches to deliveringtelecommunication data include not only phones and phone-based systemssuch as POTS (plain old telephone service), but also to systems such asDSL (digital subscriber line), cable TV systems, and any and all datanetworks, even if established only within specific buildings or otherareas. Similarly, a location aware telecommunications system refers to atelecommunications system that has location information availableregardless of whether the information is available by being integratedinto the telecommunication system or provided by some alternate means.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The availability of position information with respect to MU users makespossible new concepts not previously available in telecommunicationservices. In particular, rather than the traditional approach of hidinglocation information, mobile telecommunication systems can exploitlocation information to adapt services responsive to the location of MUusers.

Aspects of the invention may be embodied in various methods and systems.Aspects of the invention provide a method and system for initiating aconnection between two or more proximately located mobiletelecommunications users based on predefined criteria.

Referring to FIG. 1, aspects of the invention may be embodied in atelecommunications environment where a number of users make use of alocation-aware telecommunication system 120. FIG. 1 shows a typicaltelecommunication infrastructure, with the specific additionalcapability that system 120 is able to determine the position of MUs 101a-101 d using location determining technology known in the art, such asglobal positioning systems (GPS), time difference of arrival (TDOA),angle of arrival (AOA), and other like systems and methods. Anadditional capability that may be present in some embodiments of theinvention is the ability to determine the location of SUs 102 a and 102b, which may be accomplished for example via preexisting caller IDinformation, collating telephone listing street informationcorresponding to an SU 102 with a map database, or other locationdetermining means.

System 120 may contain one or more instances of telecommunicationswitches 104, general-purpose telecommunication links 111 (fiber, wire,microwave, wireless, etc.), wireless telecommunication links 110, basestations 103 for wireless MUs 101, and SU telephones 102. Connected tosystem 120 may be a customer info database server 105, an acquaintanceserver 106, matchmaker service and database (matchmaker) 107, and aconnection server 108, each for use with one or more embodiments of theinvention, as disclosed herein. The customer information database 105,automatic connection initiation service 106, matchmaker 107 andconnection server and database 108 may either be integrated into system120 or may be operated independently, external from system 120.Additionally, it is possible to combine the functions of database server105, server 106, matchmaker 107, and server 108 in one or more server,or they may each be maintained separately.

GROUP CONNECTION BASED ON DISTANCE

With reference to FIGS. 2-5, one aspect of the invention connects aninitiating first telecommunication unit TU 201 with one or more otherTUs, wherein the predetermined criteria by which the TUs selected forconnection may be the distances between all such TUs eligible for aconnection and the initiating TU. That is, TUs are selected to be addedto the connection based on their physical proximity to the initiatingTU.

One embodiment of this aspect of the invention is shown in FIG. 2. Inthis embodiment TU 201 contains a computer system 210 that selectscallees based on a request from a user of the TU 201 to establish aconnection. Computer system 210 has access to one or more group lists220, with each group list 220 containing one or more phone numbers 221,with each distinct such phone number 221 corresponding to a differentpossible distinct callee within group list 220. A single callee may havemultiple phone numbers and therefore may have multiple entries in grouplist 220.

The phone numbers 221 may be predetermined in this embodiment by beingentered by the user of TU 201 during an optional one-time group listcreation operation. In alternate embodiments, the telephone numbers 221may be downloaded from an external information appliance such as acomputer or a personal digital assistant (PDA), or received via thetelecommunication infrastructure from some external source including,but not limited to, a designated maintainer of list information for aparticular group.

A method for establishing a connection to one or more callees is shownin FIG. 4. In step 401, the user initiates a group connection, where agroup includes at least one callee. In step 401, the user of TU 201selects and activates a group list 220, when more than one are presentin the TU 201, or the user may only activate a group connection featureif only one group list 220 is available. The user of TU 201 may alsooptionally select a predetermined maximum connection distance, oralternately use a default distance value associated either with thatuser's default choice or associated with the specific group list 220being used. Other ways of selecting a distance measure may also be used.

Next, in step 402, TU 201 may query the communication infrastructure 120via a communication link 111 to determine the distance between TU 201and each potential callee in the selected group 220. The TU may performthe query by sending a list of phone numbers 221 and receiving distancevalues to place into distance entries 222 in group list 220. It shouldbe noted that such distances 222 are time varying and thus shouldgenerally be obtained from infrastructure 120 relatively near to thetime of placing a connection dependent on those distances. Apredetermined amount of time may be used, beyond which the system mayrequery for new distance determination. It is also possible that the TU201 may send the list of phone numbers 221 to the telecommunicationinfrastructure 120, and the telecommunication infrastructure determinesthe distances and initiates the telephone call, as described below,without further assistance from the TU 201.

In step 403, TU 201 may select users within group list 220 who meet apredetermined distance criterion, or the telecommunicationsinfrastructure 120 may select the users who are within a predefineddistance of the TU 201. The users 221 in this filtered list are used instep 404 as callees.

In step 404, TU 201 may initiate a multi-way connection via link 111 andcommunication infrastructure 120 to users satisfying the distancefiltering criterion applied in step 403. If there are no such users, noconnection is initiated and, preferably, the user of TU 201 is informedof failure to find suitable users for creating a group connection. Ifthere is exactly one such callee, a connection is initiated to that onecallee (a two-party connection). If there are a plurality of calleesmeeting the distance filtering criterion, then a conference connectionmay be initiated by TU 201 using techniques well known in the art. Whenthe connection is successfully created for each party to the call, theconnection initiation is completed in step 405. Alternatively, insteadof the TU 201 initiating the connection(s), the telecommunicationsinfrastructure 120 may initiate any two-party or group connections,connecting the TU 201 as it does any other user in the filtered list221.

Alternatives to this embodiment may constitute desirable embodiments ina variety of alternate situations. The list of alternative embodimentsis merely illustrative, as other alternatives may be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art.

For instance, in step 403, the selection process for nearby calleesmight preferably select only up to a predetermined maximum number ofnearby callees within the predefined maximum distance. Anotheralternative may be to select the closest predetermined number of userswithin the group, including the case of selecting only the closest user221 on group list 220. Furthermore, steps 403 and 404 may be repeateduntil a predetermined number of callees successfully join a groupconversation, with step 403 successively selecting callees within agreater predefined distance than the previous iteration.

As an example scenario, the user of TU 201 initiating the connectionmight wish to have lunch at a restaurant at a table for four people, andwould use TU 201 to contact three members of group list 220 to go out tolunch. However, if one or more of the three closest members of grouplist 220 cannot be connected (or signifies a request not to join thelunch party by exiting the group conversation before its normalconclusion, before the initiating caller exits the conversation, or someother predefined criteria), steps 403 and 404 may be repeated to addadditional callees to the connection until a desired number of calleesis reached and stay in the multi-party conversation.

Also in step 403, the normal use of the term distance implies shortestgeographic distance from one point to another. However, alternateembodiments may make use of additional geographic and transitinformation available to provide more practical calculations of distancewhen performing the selection process in step 403. One embodiment, wherestreet map information may be exploited, reports distance in terms ofactual travel distance. For example, taking into account walking aroundthe perimeter of city blocks rather than diagonally through them,sometimes referred to as Manhattan Distance. An additional embodimentmay use estimated ground travel time instead of distance to account forgeographic features such as hills, public transit availability to speedprogress in certain sections, or speed limits on roadways if users areseparated by distances conducive to travel via vehicle. When trafficinformation is known, congestion on roadways may also be taken intoaccount.

An additional embodiment may provide a refined process for selectingcallees responsive to distance in step 403. For instance, if a maximumgroup size is desired that is less than the number of potential calleesmeeting the maximum distance criterion, the group may be selected so asto minimize the total spread of callees. This may be performed byminimizing the mean square distance of the selected callees from allpotential callees within the group. Other techniques such as minimizingthe mean distance or minimizing the maximum distance/travel time for anysingle callee to reach the caller may also be used.

Another preferred embodiment of the invention is described with furtherreference to FIG. 3. In this embodiment, a TU 201 is used to initiate agroup connection via telecommunication infrastructure 120 that isconnected to a customer information database server 105. In contrast tothe first preferred embodiment in which TU 201 directed the creation ofa connection, in this second embodiment a customer information databaseserver 105 directs the creation of the connection, offering theadvantage of permitting TU 201 to be “dumb” in the sense that it neednot be specially modified or programmed to deal with group lists.Customer information database server 105 may be centrally located, or itmay be maintained in a distributed manner, as is known in the art.Server 105 comprises processor 112, and memory 119. Memory 119 storesgroup list database 220 and application software 109.

Connections in this embodiment are initiated in step 501 of FIG. 5. Instep 502, TU 201 may transmits a group identifier to customerinformation database 105 to select a predetermined group list 220 to usein establishing the connection. As in the embodiment described above,the group list may be created and selected in a variety of ways. The TUmay identify the group list by entering a special numeric group code keysequence using a keypad affixed to TU 201 in lieu of dialing a singletelephone number when creating the connection. Those skilled in the artmay easily envision other ways to select a specific group list.

In step 503 the infrastructure determines the locations 223 of all groupmembers and stores them locally in group list 220 in customerinformation database 105. Group list 220 may be continually kept up todate with location information 223 so that this step may be skipped asalready having been performed prior to the user initiating a connectionin step 501.

In steps 504, 505, and 506 group members are selected and a connectionis initiated in a manner similar to that in steps 403, 404, and 405 ofthe embodiment described above, with the principal difference thatlocation information 223 must be processed into distance informationaccording to the various methods described in the above embodiment priorto being used for selection.

In one embodiment, the particular group list 220 is specified to thecustomer information database 105 by the TU 201 initiating the groupconnection by selecting a specific unique telephone number assigned asan identification number to the selected group. The telephone numberacts as a proxy group ID number. Using this number does notautomatically connect all members of the group, but it may in analternative embodiment. Instead, dialing the telephone number invokes aselection process to connect a subset of members responsive to locationinformation as described above. Alternatively, a single telephone numbermight be used to indicate that any group connection is desired, and asubsequent group code may be entered to identify the specific group.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the initiatingTU 201 can be either an MU or an SU, and that any phone number in agroup list 220 can correspond to an MU or an SU. Thus it is possible forall members of a group to be SUs, or all members of a group to be MUs,or any combination of SUs and/or MUs.

Among the many benefits of the above aspects of the invention is theability to flexibly select a group of callees in a telecommunicationsystem responsive to both membership in a predetermined group anddistance among group members. This benefit enables creating ad hocphysical meetings and social occasions based on which individualshappens to be close together at any given time. Notions of distance arein particular intended to encompass not only literal distance measure,but additionally any and all measures conducive to identifying a set ofusers who would have the least difficult separation to overcome in orderto attend a physical group meeting, among other uses.

CONNECTION BASED ON COMPATIBLE ATTRIBUTES

With reference to FIGS. 6-7, another aspect of the invention connectsproximately located telecommunications users based in part on distanceand in part on a profile associated with each user. In FIG. 6, a firstMU 101 a may be connected via the telecommunication infrastructure 120to the matchmaker service & database 107 (hereinafter referred to as“matchmaker”). Infrastructure 120 sends location information about thefirst MU 101 a to the matchmaker 107 along telecommunication link 113,as well the first MU's matchmaking connection request. Information aboutthe locations of other MUs, such as MU 101 b may additionally be sent tomatchmaker 107 on link 113 as requested and/or as appropriate to theselection algorithm. In one embodiment, matchmaker 107 iterativelyrequests location information for specific other MUs. Matchmaker 107further may send a request to establish connections among a plurality ofselected MUs 101 via a request for connection on link 114.

The matchmaker 107 includes a processor 135 and memory 133. The memory133 may store matchmaking algorithm(s) 130, user attribute profileinformation 131, and timestamped location database 132. Matchmakingalgorithm 130 may use the other components 131 and 132 to search for asuitable match to the user of the first MU 101 a. The user attributeprofile information database 131 may contain information about likes,dislikes, physical attributes, social attributes, and any otherinformation desirable for creating matches for all registered users ofthe matchmaking service implemented including the user of the first MU101 a. Users may register for use of matchmaker 107 and provideattribute profile information during a sign-up process and optionally inmaintenance processes using, for example, web-based tools as would beobvious to one skilled in the art. The current distance informationdatabase 132 may generate distance information between any tworegistered users, and may be implemented as a database of locations plusan algorithm to compute distance between any two locations. Thisimplementation takes less storage space than an exhaustive enumerationof all distances for all pairs of registered users.

It should be appreciated that current distance database may be the samedatabase as, a copy of, or in communication with, the locationinformation in customer information database 105.

A method for performing a matchmaking connection is shown in FIG. 7.First, in step 701, a user desiring to initiate a matchmaking connectionpreferably activates a matchmaking feature on his/her MU 101 a.Alternately, a predetermined matchmaking service telephone number can beused instead to perform activation, especially on older MUs not having aspecial-purpose matchmaking feature. Other ways of initiating amatchmaking connection will be readily apparent to those skilled in theart.

In step 702, the initiator's MU 101 a transmits a request formatchmaking via a wireless link 110, through telecommunication systeminfrastructure 120, and via path 113 to matchmaker 107. In oneembodiment a standard caller ID feature as known in the art may be usedto identify the initiating MU 101a, and the telecommunication systeminfrastructure 120 may provide position information corresponding to theinitiator. Thus the transmission of location information in step 702 maybe implicit with the request rather than explicit in a messageoriginated by MU 101. That is, the infrastructure 120 may providelocation information using network based methods, such as TDOA, AOA, orother method known in the art, or the MU 101 may provide the locationusing a “smart” technology, such as GPS.

Next, in step 703, matchmaker 107 accesses user attribute profileinformation 131 and creates a list of the best matches between theinitiator and other users who have registered with the matchmaker 107.This list may be sorted in order of best match first for laterprocessing, or may be sorted by proximate distance of possible matches.The list may be implemented using any data structure known in the art,such as a linked list, sorted data array, heapsort data structure, andthe like. In one embodiment the algorithm used for determining whichmatches are best creates a match score equal to the number of differentattributes that are compatible between user profiles. For example, amale chess player seeking a female would have a score of one for anyfemale, but a score of two for any female who also plays chess. Tiedscores may be ordered randomly, but may alternately be ranked orweighted using different weights associated with each attribute, or tiedscores may be ordered in increasing distance from the requesting MU. Theart in the area of matchmaking is well developed, and this embodiment isnot intended to limit or otherwise constrain the breadth of thisinvention to any single implementation or class of matchmakingalgorithm.

Next, in step 704, matchmaker 107 begins an iterative search algorithmcomprising steps 704-706. Step 704 processes the ordered set of matchesfrom step 703 in decreasing order of score, initially selecting thefirst user from the list created in step 703. Step 705 determines thedistance between the caller and the potential match selected in thecurrent iteration of step 704. This distance is preferably determined byquerying telecommunication system infrastructure 120 for the distancebetween initiating MU 101 a and the specific potential callee MU beingconsidered in the current search iteration. In step 706 the loop isterminated when the callee is identified as being within a predeterminedmaximum connection distance, causing control to pass to step 707 with asuccessful match; otherwise the search iterates back to step 704,selecting the next potential match from the list created in step 703. Ifno match is found, an exception has occurred and the process mayterminate without establishing a connection, but preferably by notifyingthe initiating user of the error condition.

A suitable and proximate match callee having been identified, step 707initiates a telecommunication connection between caller and selectedcallee MU 101 b. In one embodiment, no personal information should bedisclosed to either party so as to maintain protective anonymity untilboth parties are comfortable revealing information at their owndiscretion after a discussion period. Thus the connection is made“blind” between two or more parties who have no way of knowing theidentity of other parties. This may be accomplished by blocking anyCaller ID feature available on either users' phone, or by indicating aCaller ID of “MatchMaker” or some other identifying symbol or message.

After the connection has been successfully initiated, the call proceedsas a normal telecommunication connection with the exception ofidentification information being kept anonymous during the course of theconnection and additionally in the billing cycle.

That is, while some telecommunications carriers indicate the telephonenumber of every telephone call that a user makes in each periodicaccount statement, the identifying telephone number of the callee fromthe matchmaker connection may be suppressed, replaced with*symbols,replaced with a generic matchmaker telephone number, indication, or thelike.

There are a variety of possible attributes that can be used to creatematches. The following list of possible attributes is provided as anillustration of possible attributes that may be used to match one userwith another. However, the invention is not intended to be limited tothis or any other particular list of attributes, and applies to any andall such attributes that might be envisioned by one of skill in the art.

Name. A shared first name, surname, nickname, or other appellation canserve as the basis for conversion, whether or not it is indicative of afamilial relationship.

Heritage. Persons belonging to the same extended family might wish tohave an ad hoc meeting, especially if they do not live in the samehousehold and, in fact, especially if they have never previously met. Asan example, a traveler might encounter an unknown relative in a distantcity.

Educational institution. Alumni of an educational institution (school,college, university, trade school, etc.) may wish to meet, and mightadditionally wish selection to be responsive to class year, major,courses taken, etc. Such a match can serve as an ad hoc alumni meetingopportunity.

Educational parenting. Parents, guardians, siblings, and other friendsand relatives of a student in a particular school might wish to meet toshare compatible interests and/or concerns.

Occupation. Individuals sharing a particular occupation, trade, orprofession might wish to meet to discuss compatible interests.

Trade/Skill. Individuals having a particular skill, ability, orprofessional certification whether or not related to occupation mightwish to meet. For example, two notary publics might wish to meet eventhough that certification is incidental to their primary employment,meaning that they do not have a shared primary occupation.

Military service. Shared military experiences including branch ofservice, group, specialty area, operating unit, or battles/time periodscan form an excellent basis for discussion.

Hometown. Having grown up in or being the resident of or citizen of thesame town, city, state, or country can provide a compatible basis fordiscussion. For example, a traveler to a distant country might welcomethe opportunity to meet a person with a similar cultural heritage.

Religion. Having the same or compatible religions can form the basis ofa discussion either on religious views or simply set a context for othercompatible attributes.

Hobby. Hobbyists with similar avocations might wish to meet and discusscompatible interests.

Recent experience. A shared recent experience such as having read a bookor having attended a concert can form the basis of a discussion.

Political views. People sharing political views might wish to discusscurrent events or political contests.

Problem or illness (ad hoc support group). People sharing compatibleproblems, illnesses, addictions, or behavioral disorders commonly seekcompanionship and support in support groups. Selecting calleesresponsive to shared problems or illnesses can create ad hoc supportmeetings. In particular, a person feeling in emergent need of suchsupport might make a specific request to identify nearbysympathetic/compatible individuals for an immediate meeting.

Sexual preference, such as “heterosexual” or “homosexual”, withselection performed responsive to both orientation and gender ofpotential callees.

Desire for a specific experience. This may encompass any experience, butexamples might include looking for a companion to go to the movies or totry a specific restaurant.

Compatible demographics. This encompasses personal information such asage, gender, socioeconomic group, and so on.

There are a number of alternatives to the above aspect that mayconstitute desirable embodiments in a variety of alternate situations.This list of alternative embodiments should be considered merelyillustrative, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

The selection algorithm comprising steps 703-706 may be recast in anumber of ways depending on information available and the type ofselection desired. The invention may use any matchmaking processresponsive to both attributes and distance. As a first example,potential matches could alternately be sorted by distance and thenselected in distance order responsive to meeting a minimum match score.Alternately, a hybrid search may be performed wherein complete locationand match information for all pairs of users is obtained prior to asearch for a global optimum on a weighted match/distance score with, forexample, a weighting value being set for each meter of distancebalancing out each fractional number of match score points. Matchmakingalgorithms may also combine both user attribute information andtime-stamped location information in a single algorithm, such as a K-DTree, which can efficiently produce a result set bounding dimensionsincluding distance and attribute information.

The selection process of step 703 can alternately be responsive topredetermined times of day during which individual users have elected tobe available or unavailable for matchmaking connections. Alternately, ina further embodiment, each MU 101 has the capability to set a mode of“responsive” or “unresponsive” to matchmaking connections to avoidconnections wasted to callees who are not available for matchmakingdiscussions, similar to turning off a cell phone when one does not wantto be disturbed, but applying only to matchmaking connections.

Distance information in step 705 is preferably obtained only as requiredduring searches to minimize cost and resources used in obtainingdistance information, but alternately could be maintained at all timesfor faster response time, or obtained from a cache subject to timeoutand refresh intervals.

In a further embodiment, the caller may have the ability to specify aparticular number of people to connect with rather than a single callee.Thus, for example, a person hoping to gather a group of three peoplecould find two companions at once instead of having to make twomatchmaking connections. The present invention may thus be used todynamically generate group lists for initiating group connectionspursuant to the first aspect of the invention, above. By this, what ismeant is that steps 701 through 706 produce an ad hoc, dynamicallygenerated group list, and step 707 consists of employing one of the manyembodiments above with respect to the first aspect of the inventionwhere proximately located mobile users are selectively connected inresponse to a group connection request.

In one embodiment the matchmaker 107 may be automated. However, inalternate embodiments matchmaker 107 may be partially or entirely aperson using a telecommunication device and having access to distanceinformation provided by telecommunication infrastructure 120.

Among the many benefits of this aspect of the invention is the flexibleability to select a group of callees in a telecommunication systemresponsive to both attribute profile information and distance amonggroup members. This benefit enables creating ad hoc physical meetingsand social occasions based on individuals that happen to be closetogether at any given time. Notions of distance are in particularintended to encompass not only literal distance measure, butadditionally any and all measures conducive to identifying a set ofusers who would have the least difficult separation to overcome in orderto attend a physical group meeting, among other uses. An additionalbenefit is to produce a result set of manageable size, when traditionalattribute information produces large result sets.

This invention encompasses and broadens the notion of a traditionalmatchmaking service. In particular, the word “compatible” indicatessomething that is shared (e.g., a common love of the opera), iscomplementary (e.g., boy seeks girl or girl seeks boy), or is otherwisepredictive of fostering a positive relationship (e.g., the proverbialMr. & Mrs. Spratt who, having markedly differing preferences for amountof lipids in their food, are able to consume an entire meal in tandemwhile leaving no wastage). Those skilled in the art may readily envisionunlimited attribute possibilities that may be used, in addition todistance, to match up two or more potentially compatible users.

AUTOMATIC CONNECTION BASED ON DISTANCE

In another aspect of the invention, with reference to FIGS. 8-10, atelecommunications system may continually monitor the location of TUs201 and automatically initiate telecommunication connections between afirst TU with one or more other TUs responsive to the distances betweenall such TUs eligible for a connection with the initiating TU. Theexample discussed below uses a pair of TUs being connected in order toclearly describe the invention, but aspects of the invention may also beused for connections among any number of TUs.

One embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 8. Currently active TUs201 a-201 e are connected via infrastructure 120 to the connectionserver 108. An active TU is one that is both turned on and enabled bythe user to participate in automated connections. Infrastructure 120continually sends location information about TUs 201 to server 108 alongtelecommunication link 115. Infrastructure 120 may also send locationinformation periodically, randomly, asynchronously, according to aregular schedule, or responsive to requests. Whenever criteria are metto trigger an automatically initiated connection, server 108 sends arequest to establish connections among a plurality of selected TUs 201via a request for connection on link 116. Logical links 115 and 116 mayshare a single physical telecommunication link as would be obvious toone skilled in the art.

The server 108 comprises a processor 144 and memory 145. Memory 145stores at least one triggering algorithm 140 that uses other componentsin the memory of server 108 to determine when to initiate a connectionand which TUs should participate in that connection. One embodiment oftriggering algorithm 140 may be according to the method shown in FIG. 9.A user attribute profile information database 141 may containinformation about likes, dislikes, physical attributes, socialattributes, and any other information desirable for filtering triggeringevents. This profile information may be the same as or different from auser's matchmaking profile, above. Users may register for use of server108 and provide attribute profile information in a sign-up process andoptionally in maintenance processes using, for example, Web-based toolsas would be obvious to one skilled in the art. A current positioninformation database 142 contains position information for active TUs201, and preferably is continually updated, although updates may occuronly periodically based on economic factors, business and/or user needs,or similar criteria. A locations of interest database 143 containsposition information for predetermined locations that may be of interestfor triggering automatic connections. For example, location database 143may have an entry for the front entrance of a particular store,building, or vendor cart location. Server 108 may comprise aconventional computer, mainframe computer, or other suitable computerdevice for the purpose of implementing triggering algorithms 140,storing user attribute profile information 141, storing current locationdatabase information 142, and storing location information 143 andgenerally performing procedures described herein.

A process for automatically initiating a connection for is shown in FIG.9. In this embodiment, the distance between the user of a TU 201 and apredetermined location in database 133 may be used as a primarytriggering criterion for establishing a telecommunication connection.

First, in step 301, server 108 is activated, and begins a continuoussearch for candidates for automatic connections in step 302, continuinguntil the server is shut down, deactivated or otherwise made unavailablein step 311.

The loop in step 303 examines each active user who is not already partyto a connection, and in step 310 starts back at the first active user toreexamine them all over again per loop step 302.

The loop in step 304 takes a selected user and examines the distancebetween that selected user and all locations of interest to that user.Step 309 selects the next active user and continues executing loop 303.

Steps 305 to 308 perform the determination and connection operations ofthe automatic connection algorithm, with other steps serving largely toiterate across all users and all locations. Step 305 considers thecurrent TU user's position, as received from database 142, and examinesthe distance between that TU and the position in database 143 for theparticular location selected in iteration step 304. In step 306, thedistance between the selected user and selected location is comparedagainst a predetermined distance threshold (such as, for example, beingwithin 20 meters). The predetermined distance threshold may be a defaultdistance, a preferred distance defined by the user, or any otherpredetermined distance. If the distance of the user to the selectedlocation is within the predetermined distance threshold, step 307 isexecuted to initiate a telecommunication connection between the selecteduser's TU and a predetermined callee associated in database 143 withthat particular selected location. Regardless of whether a connection isinitiated, step 308 iterates the loop controlled by step 304, eithertrying all locations in database 143 or stopping iteration once the useris connected. When the user is connected the system proceeds to performiterations for other users.

As a result of the method shown in FIG. 9, a user coming withintriggering distance to any of a set of locations stored in database 143may receive a phone call or otherwise experience the automatic creationof a telecommunication connection with the callee associated with thatlocation. In one embodiment a single connection is created, and furtherconnections to a particular TU 201 are not made until the currentconnection of that particular TU 201 is completed. Also, in someembodiments the user of each TU 201 may select an operating mode whicheither enables or disables the automatic creation of connections. Thisallows users to suppress automatic connections when they may beinconvenient to the user, such as when the user is driving a car orwaiting for an important telephone call.

In an enhanced operating mode further comprising the above embodiment,server 108 triggers connections not only responsive to distances tolocations, but also responsive to a filtering function based on userattribute profile information. Any relevant user attribute is possibleand within scope of the invention, including in general a user'spreference for participating in a telecommunication connection for anyparticular type or genre of location. As an example, if a user likes tovisit coffee shops then the user attribute profile information database141 may be used by triggering algorithm 140 to trigger connections whennear coffee shops listed in database 143. Alternatively, if a particularuser does not care for coffee shops, an appropriate annotation inprofile information 141 for that user would disable connections thatwould otherwise be triggered when near coffee shops. In one embodiment,step 306 not only determines whether a user is close to a particularlocation, but also whether that particular user meets screening criteriaresponsive to that user's profile information stored in profileinformation 141; and triggering algorithm 140 only initiates aconnection per step 307 if both position and screening criteria indicateit is acceptable to do so. User profile information database 141 may bethe same as or different from the user profile database 131.

It is additionally instructive to consider some usage scenarios tobetter understand embodiments of the invention. An aspect of theinvention not present in prior art is the notion that connections occurin reaction to an automated triggering system rather than occurring atthe specific request of a TU user (i.e., connections occur responsive toactions of server 108 rather than from a TU user dialing a phone number,entering a URL, or otherwise making a request of an information system).One of the modes of operation may be to create unexpected connections inthat the user would not ordinarily be aware of a situation favorable fortriggering a connection without the availability of server 108 and wouldnot ordinarily initiate a connection manually.

It is possible that any particular instantiation of the describedembodiments will be employed in one or more of the following manners,although this list should be considered merely illustrative and notlimiting in any manner. Example scenarios of usage include:

Scenario 1: Database 143 contains locations of particular types ofrestaurants, coffee shops, snack shops, or other businesses, and profileinformation 141 contains user preferences for certain styles ofproducts. A connection between a user's MU and a restaurant's marketingstaff (automated or human) is created when a user walks within 50 feetof the restaurant's location. Optionally, this connection can be used tooffer inducements to visit a shop or business along the lines of“e-coupons” that are issued responsive to proximity in addition to otherinformation. The e-coupons may be embedded in a data message sent to theuser's MU.

Scenario 2: Database 143 contains locations of historical, cultural, orother importance, and user profile information in database 141 indicatespreferences of specific users to learn about specific types of locationsand/or information. Thus, a user would get a phone call via MU whenwithin a predefined distance of an important location of specificinterest to that user.

Scenario 3: Database 143 and profile information 141, when combined,form a list of places that a user has specifically desired to see whenconvenient to do so, including for example a social obligation such aswhen a user has previously promised someone that they would stop by thenext time he or she is in the neighborhood. Rather than having toremember all such obligations, a user can receive an automatic reminderphone call when within a predetermined distance of a previously promisedsocial obligation location.

Scenario 4: Profile information 141 preferably also includestime-related information, such as when a particular user eats lunch.Thus, a user could be alerted by receiving a mobile telephone orautomotive PC alert when driving past a Japanese restaurant within 15minutes (or some other predefined amount of time) of lunchtime (alsouser or predefined). Information transmitted in this manner couldinclude, for example, daily specials and prices in addition to the factthat such a restaurant is nearby.

Of course it would be obvious to one skilled in the art to createvarious alternative scenarios embodying the above aspect of theinvention.

There are a number of alternatives to the above embodiments that mayconstitute desirable embodiments in a variety of alternate situations.This list of alternative embodiments should be considered merelyillustrative, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

In some situations the use of a “call waiting” feature might bedesirable so as not to miss connections, permitting more than oneconnection to be initiated at a time. Modifying the operation of FIG. 9to accomplish this is straightforward for one skilled in the art.

Some embodiments may keep history information regarding previouslyestablished connections, and adapt triggering algorithm 140 to take intoaccount this information as an additional portion of profile information141. For example, historical notes about a location passed by every dayduring a commute to work may be automatically filtered out withoutrequiring a user to specifically exclude that particular location fromtriggering future matches after the initial connection instance.

The notion of distance in step 305 need not be considered to be simplygeographic distance, but instead may encompass distance as definedthroughout this specification.

While the foregoing describes a single server 108, it may beadvantageous to have a plurality of such servers implemented both forcompetitive purposes as well as to distribute the server to variousgeographic regions, providing localized service infrastructure to eachlocality. Such servers may be centrally located physically and logicallydivided into regional service areas to take advantage of economies ofscale in machine room operations. In particular, segmenting server 108geographically may reduce the number of users to be searched in anyparticular service site, improving operational efficiency.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown with reference to FIG. 10.This embodiment may trigger connections based on proximity of aplurality of users rather than proximity of a single user to apredetermined location.

First, in step 411, server 108 is turned on or otherwise activated, andbegins a continual search for candidates for automatic connections instep 412, continuing until the server is shut down or otherwise madeunavailable in step 421. The loop in step 413 examines each active userwho is not already party to a connection, and in step 420 restarts toreexamine them all over again per loop step 412.

The loop in step 414 takes a first selected user and examines thedistance between that selected user and all other active userscomprising sequentially selected second users. Step 419 selects the nextsecond active user and continues executing loop 413.

Steps 415 to 418 perform the distance and connection operations of theautomatic connection algorithm, with other steps serving largely toiterate across all active first users compared with all other activesecond users. Step 415 considers the current TU position for a firstuser from database 142 and examines the distance between that first userand the position in database 142 for the selected second user from step414. In step 416, the distance between the selected first user andselected second user is compared to a predetermined distance threshold,for example, 50 meters. If the distance is small enough for the twousers to be nearby each other according to a predetermined distancethreshold, step 417 is executed to initiate an automatictelecommunication connection between the selected first user's TU andthe selected second user's TU. Regardless of whether a connection isinitiated, step 418 iterates the loop controlled by step 414, eithertrying all second users in database 142 or stopping iteration once thefirst user is connected. When the first user is connected, step 413iterates to next active first user.

Using the above method, a user coming within a predetermined triggeringdistance to any other active user may receive a phone call or otherautomatic creation of a telecommunication connection. In one embodimenta single connection is created, and further connections to a particularTU 201 are not made until the current connection of any particular TU201 is completed. In some embodiments, the user of TU 201 has theability to select an operating mode which either enables or disables theautomatic creation of connections as a matter of convenience.

In some embodiments, server 108 triggers connections not only responsiveto distance, but also responsive to a filtering function based on userattribute profile information.

Any relevant user attribute is possible and within scope of theinvention. Moreover, for user-to-user connections it becomes relevant tohave profile information related to automatic matchmaking or otherwisefacilitating meetings such with respect to above aspects of theinvention. For instance, instead of waiting for a user to requestcreation of a matchmaking connection, a matchmaking connection may beautomatically instantiated when two or more compatible users are withina predefined distance, optionally only when the users have indicatedthat automatic matchmaking is allowed.

There are a number of alternatives that may constitute desirableembodiments in a variety of alternate situations. This list ofalternative embodiments should be considered merely illustrative, and isnot intended to limit the scope of the invention.

It may be desirable to further filter triggering to situations in whichmultiple users are close to a particular location of interest, thuscombining elements of the person-to-location embodiment with theperson-to-person embodiment. As an example, profile information for auser fond of coffee shops might be set to receive notification any timethat user was within a preset distance of a favored coffee shop at thesame time some other compatible user (or friend, as defined by the user)is also within the preset distance of that same coffee shop, therebyarranging to have coffee with a compatible person (or friend) when theopportunity presents itself. Some embodiments may perform the distancetest to only one user rather than both users due to the fact that if oneuser is close to a location, then other nearby users must of necessityalso be relatively close to the same location. Also, other nearby usersmay be near the distance threshold rather than strictly within it.

In some embodiments the number of users within a distance threshold maybe more than two. For example, while someone looking for a chess playingcompanion might look for a single like-minded individual within apredetermined distance, a bridge player might desire to be connected toan emergent conference call phone conversation with three other peoplewithin a predetermined distance to arrange an ad hoc bridge game.

Also, in some embodiments the selected location may be a movinglocation. That is, the usually static notion of location may actuallyrefer to a moving location. For example, the location of the umbra of asolar eclipse moves over time, so the system may notify appropriateusers that they should look outside to see an eclipse when they arewithin the area of the umbra.

Among the many benefits of this aspect of the invention is the abilityto flexibly select one or more callees in a population of TU users basedon location and distance information both with respect to geographiclocations and inter-user distances. This benefit enables creating ad hocphysical meetings and social occasions based on who happens to be closetogether at any given time as well as notifying users that they arepassing near places of interest they might not have otherwise noticed.

CONNECTION BASED ON DEGREE OF SEPARATION

Another aspect of the invention may connect proximately located mobileusers based on the degree of separation between the users of the TUs inan acquaintance graph such as that shown in FIG. 13. Two individuals aresaid to be acquainted when they know each other, regardless of whetherby blood, marriage, work, or otherwise. Users represented by two nodesare said to be acquainted when the nodes are connected. If two usersknow each other, their degree of separation is 1. If two users do notknow each other but both know a particular individual (i.e., have acommon friend), their degree of separation is 2. If they do not havefriends in common, but each has a friend and those two friends know eachother, then their degree of separation is 3, and so forth. In FIG. 13,Ann knows Carl, Dave, Guy, and Mike, thus Ann is said to be acquaintedwith these individuals, because they only have one degree of separation.Carl, in addition to Ann, is also acquainted with Dave, Fran, Guy, andNora. Thus, Ann has two degrees of separation from Fran and Nora, amongothers.

An embodiment of the invention that uses acquaintance graphs is shown inFIG. 11. A first MU 101 e (or alternatively an SU 102 in anotherembodiment) is connected via the telecommunication infrastructure 120 tothe acquaintance server 106. Infrastructure 120 sends locationinformation about the first MU 101 e to the acquaintance server 106along telecommunication link 117. Information about the locations of allother MUs are additionally sent to acquaintance server 106 on link 117as requested and/or as appropriate to the selection algorithm.Acquaintance server 106 further conditionally sends a request toestablish connections among a plurality of selected MUs via a requestfor connection on link 118.

The acquaintance server 106 may comprise a processor 153 and memory 155.The memory may store one ore more connection creation algorithms 150that uses other components stored in memory to search for a suitablematch to the user of the first MU 101 e. An acquaintance database 151may contain an acquaintance graph for registered users of the serviceand, in one embodiment, all users about which it can obtain information.As discussed above, nodes within an acquaintance graph represent usersof TUs, and an arc connecting two nodes within the acquaintance graphrepresents that the individuals represented by the two nodes areacquaintances. (i.e., node A and node B are joined by an arc within theacquaintance graph when person A knows person B).

Data to create the acquaintance graph may be entered by users in termsof their immediate acquaintances, and can be joined to other datareceived from other sources to form a single graph using varioustechniques as would be apparent to one skilled in the art. Acquaintancedatabase 151 preferably also contains other information about each userrepresented via a node, including at a minimum that user's telephonenumber or other suitable contact information to be used in establishinga connection. A current distance information database 152 is able togenerate distance information between any two registered users, and ispreferably implemented as a database of locations plus an algorithm tocompute distance between any two locations as is known in the art.

A process for automatically creating a connection is shown in FIG. 12.In this process, connections may be automatically triggered when twousers having a small degree of separation are within a predetermineddistance of each other. Any user desiring to participate in anyconnection opportunities that might arise as a result of their degree ofseparation from other users may activate an enabling feature on his/herMU 101, making that user an “active” user for the purposes ofestablishing a connection based on the acquaintance graph. Alternately apredetermined connection service telephone number can be used instead toperform activation, such as on older MUs 101 not having a specialpurpose connection enabling feature. Calling such a number might not inand of itself create a connection—rather it simply implies that the usermaking such a call may be available for any future connectionopportunities that might arise. Other known methods of opting in, suchas using a built in menu in the TU, may also be used.

First, in step 321, service 106 is turned on or otherwise madeavailable, and begins a continual search for candidates for automaticconnections in step 322, continuing until the service is shut down orotherwise made unavailable in step 331. The loop in step 323 examineseach first active user who is not already party to a connection, and instep 330 reiterates over all active users to reexamine them all overagain per loop step 322.

The loop in step 324 takes a second active user (excepting the firstactive user currently already selected by loop step 323) so as toexamine the distance and degree of separation between that first userand each possible second user. Step 329 selects the next second activeuser and continues executing loop 323.

Steps 325 to 328 perform the distance, degree of separation, andconnection operations of the automatic connection algorithm, with othersteps serving to iterate across all pairs of active users. Step 325considers both the distance between the selected first and second usersas well as the degree of separation between the selected first andsecond users obtained from acquaintance database 151. In step 326, thesystem compares the distance between the first and second user against apredetermined maximum threshold distance (for example, 50 meters), andalso compares the degree of separation between the first and second user(for example, 2 degrees of separation, indicating that the two usershave a friend in common). Other connection decision criteria arepossible, including specifically the ability for users to set their ownpreferred distance thresholds and degree of separation thresholds, withother alternatives discussed below.

If step 326 determines that distance and degree of separation thresholdsare satisfied, step 327 is executed to initiate an automatictelecommunication connection between the first and second users' TUs.Regardless of whether a connection is initiated, step 328 iterates theloop controlled by step 324, either trying all active second users orstopping iteration once users are connected.

Using the method shown in FIG. 12, any user coming within triggeringdistance to any other user having a sufficiently small degree ofseparation may receive a phone call or otherwise experience theautomatic creation of a telecommunication connection with the other userinvolved in the triggering event. In one embodiment a single connectionis created, and further connections to a particular TU 201 are not madeuntil the current connection to that particular TU 201 is completed.Also, in one embodiment the user of

TU 201 has the ability to select an operating mode that selectivelyenables or disables the automatic creation of connections as a matter ofconvenience.

There are a number of alternatives to the above embodiment that mayconstitute desirable embodiments in a variety of alternate situations.This list of alternative embodiments should be considered merelyillustrative, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

The triggering of connections in steps 325 and 326 could additionally beresponsive to attribute information about the parties potentially beingconnected. For example, not only might two individuals have to be closeto each other and have a low degree of separation, but one of thepersons involved in the potential connection might have a filter set topermit connections perhaps only to people of the same religion, samedemographic group, or same ethnic group. In other words, it is possibleto combine the triggering techniques of this aspect of the inventionwith other aspects of the invention based on user attributes, above.

In some embodiments multiple graphs may be stored within theacquaintance database. Each graph may represent a specific type ofconnection, such as via a religious group or via a community serviceorganization. This would provide an alternate approach to limiting whichtypes of degrees of separation are enabled for connections, or forassigning different limits on degrees of separation for each type ofgraph. For example, a user wanting to generate business leads and notwishing to overly impose on friendships might enable connections for twodegrees of separation for business contacts but only one degree ofseparation for social contacts.

In another embodiment, an alternate to the algorithm of comparingdistance and separation against thresholds in step 326 may be to use aweighted threshold scheme. For example, a lookup table could be used toset a maximum allowable distance for every degree of separation. Forexample, a user might set 200 meters distance for one degree ofseparation, but only 100 meters of distance for two degrees ofseparation, and 10 meters of distance for three degrees of separation. Astandardized such lookup table could be used, as well as a mathematicaltradeoff formula used in the same manner as such a lookup table.

Another use of acquaintance graphs may be to examine multiple pathsthrough the graph and determine the “strength” of a potential affinityvia a mathematical relationship involving number and degree ofseparation degrees as well as distance. As an example, a formula forstrength that may be used is:

strength=10X+3Y+Z   (Equation 1)

where X represents the number of one degree paths, Y represents thenumber of two degree paths, and Z represents the number of three degreepaths between two users. This formula computes a strength in whichone-degree-of-separation paths are weighted heavier than other paths,but someone with a large number of two-degree-of-separation pathsthrough the acquaintance graph may still score well. The weights on thisformula are arbitrary and may readily be changed as appropriate for anygiven embodiment, including non-linear combinations. Given such aformula, a user could select a threshold strength, below which aconnection might not be initiated. Additionally, this strength could betraded off against distance as taught in the preceding paragraphs, suchthat the farther away a potential match is from the user, the greaterthe strength requirement may be in order to initiate a connection.

An additional approach to evaluating distances along acquaintance graphsthat may be used independently or combined with other approaches isassessing the number and length of independent paths. Two paths are saidto be independent if they have no acquaintance graph nodes in commonother than the two end-point nodes being used for the degree ofseparation assessment. This approach may give an improved assessment ofdistance by reducing the effect of paths having only slight variationsin an otherwise shared set of hops through the graph.

The selection process of step 326 may alternately be responsive topredetermined times of day during which individual users have elected tobe available or unavailable for connections. Alternately, in a furtherpreferred embodiment, each MU 101 may have the capability to set a modeof “responsive” or “unresponsive” to connections so as to avoidconnections wasted to callees who are not available for discussions.Again, this is a similar idea to turning off a cell phone when one doesnot want to be disturbed, but may apply only to automatic connectionsbased on degree of separation

Also, the selection algorithm comprising steps 325 and 326 may be recastin a number of ways depending on information available and the type ofselection desired. This aspect of the invention may encompass anyconnection process responsive to both degree of separation and distance.The invention is specifically intended to cover not only connectionsbetween two individuals, but also connections involving groups ofindividuals with low degrees of separation and close physical proximity,using extensions to this aspect that would be evident to one skilled inthe art in light of this and above aspects of the invention.

Another embodiment may be constructed and operated similar to theprevious embodiment except for the contents of the acquaintance graph.Instead of the acquaintance graph containing data about who knows whom,the acquaintance graph may be replaced by genealogical data forming anancestry tree without regard to whether any connected ancestors have met(although presumably in the majority of cases they have indeed met). Thenotion of degree of separation then becomes the number of “hops” (i.e.,number of arc traversals) required to traverse between two family orextended family members. This may be performed to facilitate chancemeetings among indirectly related people (for example, among second orthird cousins who might otherwise not know each other). As an example,an American of European descent might activate such a feature whiletaking a vacation in Europe to foster chance meetings with distantrelatives and have a topic of conversation available in the form of thegenealogical relationship with whichever person is met. The maximumthreshold degree of separation may be higher when using a genealogicaltree instead of an acquaintance graph.

Yet another embodiment of the invention may be constructed and operatedsimilar to the above embodiments, except for the addition of anadditional triggering mechanism. In this embodiment, a first user mayactively and intentionally trigger a connection to the best matchcurrently available among all other active users.

In this embodiment, all feasible second users are examined for the bestscore against triggering criteria, looking for the second user havingthe minimum combination of distance and degree of separation. Previousdiscussions of possible lookup tables and mathematical approaches forgenerating scores may apply for this embodiment as well. This may beused as an intentional meeting generator or private “panic button” whenthe first user wishes to contact the most accessible friend or indirectfriend available for a telecommunication connection. An example of thisuse might be if someone is stranded in a strange place and in need ofhelp, or even just lonely and looking for a friend or newfound friend toshare a meal with. The fact that even an immediate family member (i.e.,a user with degree of genealogical separation of one) is by chancegeographically close while a caller is in a strange location may beunknown and in practice unknowable to a user without the availability ofthis embodiment or exhaustive calling of all possible friends,acquaintances, and relatives.

A particular distinction with regard to various aspects of theabove-described invention is the preferred usage by people. Prior artfor generating introductions between people has virtually always focusedexclusively on establishing contact between two potentially compatiblepeople at a distance, and then letting them work out details of ameeting time and place or alternately having a mediator (a “matchmaker”)make such arrangements. This severely limits the number and scope ofsuch meetings and neglects the potentially huge numbers of opportunisticmeetings that might otherwise occur when compatible, related, orotherwise acquainted people happen to be at the same place at the sametime.

One use of this invention may be to create a connection between twoindividuals who are related, work together, are potentially compatible,or are otherwise acquainted, but to additionally bypass the need tonegotiate and arrange for a meeting time and place. Because the usersare connected responsive to distance, the meeting time is “now” and themeeting place is approximately “right here”, wherever the users happento be. This approach may generate an entirely new class of capabilityfor facilitating ad hoc business discussions, dates, salesopportunities, and other meetings of all sorts.

One or more embodiments may be performed by a computer storing computerreadable instructions on a computer readable medium, such that when thecomputer readable instructions are read and executed by a processor ofthe computer, the computer is caused to perform in accordance with theinvention as described herein.

While the invention has been described with respect to specific examplesincluding presently preferred modes of carrying out the invention, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerous variationsand permutations of the above described systems and techniques that fallwithin the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in theappended claims.

We Claim:
 1. A method for automatically initiating a connection with amobile telecommunications unit (MU) comprising the step of creating aconnection between an MU and a telecommunications unit (TU) associatedwith a type of predetermined geographic location selected by a user ofthe MU when the MU is within a predetermined distance of thepredetermined geographic location, wherein automatic connections withthe predetermined type of geographic location are suppressed exceptduring predefined time periods.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the TUis an automated recording playback device.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the creating step is not performed when the MU is in a firstmode wherein automatic connections are suppressed.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the attribute is a list of geographic locationsselected by the user.
 5. A method for automatically initiating aconnection with a mobile telecommunications unit (MU) comprising:creating a connection between an MU and a telecommunications unit (TU)associated with a predetermined geographic location when the MU iswithin a predetermined distance of the predetermined geographiclocation, wherein the predetermined geographic location is selectedbased at least in part on an attribute associated with a user of the MU;and suppressing subsequent connections based on the predeterminedgeographic location after an initial, successful connection based on thepredetermined geographic location.
 6. A method for automaticallyconnecting proximately located telecommunication units (TU), comprisingthe step of connecting a first TU to at least one other TU when thefirst and at least one other TUs are within a first predetermineddistance of each other and are within a second predetermined distance ofa predetermined geographic location.
 7. The method of claim 6, whereinthe at least one other TU is selected based at least in part onattribute information associated with each user of each TU.
 8. Themethod of claim 8, wherein each TU is a mobile telecommunications unit.9. A computer readable medium for automatically initiating a connectionwith a mobile telecommunications unit (MU), comprising stored computerreadable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause acomputing device to perform the step of creating a connection between anMU and a telecommunications unit (TU) associated with a type ofpredetermined geographic location selected by a user of the MU when theMU is within a predetermined distance of the predetermined geographiclocation, wherein automatic connections with the predetermined type ofgeographic location are suppressed except during predefined timeperiods.
 10. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the TU isan automated recording playback device.
 11. The computer readable mediumof claim 9, wherein the creating step is not performed when the MU is ina first mode wherein automatic connections are suppressed.
 12. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the attribute is a list ofgeographic locations selected by the user.
 13. A computer readablemedium for automatically initiating a connection with a mobiletelecommunications unit (MU), comprising stored computer readableinstructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor toperform the steps of: creating a connection between an MU and atelecommunications unit (TU) associated with a predetermined geographiclocation when the MU is within a predetermined distance of thepredetermined geographic location, wherein the predetermined geographiclocation is selected based at least in part on an attribute associatedwith a user of the MU; and suppressing subsequent connections based onthe predetermined geographic location after an initial, successfulconnection based on the predetermined geographic location.
 14. Acomputer readable medium for automatically connecting proximatelylocated telecommunication units (TU), comprising stored computerreadable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause acomputing device to perform the step of connecting a first TU to atleast one other TU when the first and at least one other TUs are withina first predetermined distance of each other and are within a secondpredetermined distance of a predetermined geographic location.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the at least one other TU is selected basedat least in part on attribute information associated with each user ofeach TU.
 16. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein each TUis a mobile telecommunications unit.
 17. A system for automaticallyinitiating a connection with a mobile telecommunications unit (MU),comprising: a processor; memory for storing computer readableinstructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system toperform the step of creating a connection between an MU and atelecommunication unit (TU) associated with a type of predeterminedgeographic location selected by a user of the MU when the MU is within apredetermined distance of the predetermined geographic location, whereinautomatic connections with the predetermined type of geographic locationare suppressed except during predefined time periods.
 18. The system ofclaim 17, wherein the TU is an automated recording playback device. 19.The system of claim 17, wherein the creating step is not performed whenthe MU is in a first mode wherein automatic connections are suppressed.20. The system of claim 17, wherein the attribute is a list ofgeographic locations selected by the user.
 21. A system forautomatically initiating a connection with a mobile telecommunicationsunit (MU), comprising: a processor; memory for storing computer readableinstructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system toperform the steps of: creating a connection between an MU and atelecommunication unit (TU) associated with a predetermined geographiclocation when the MU is within a predetermined distance of thepredetermined geographic location, where the predetermined geographiclocation is selected based at least in part on an attribute associatedwith a user of the MU; and suppressing subsequent connections based onthe predetermined geographic location after an initial, successfulconnection based on the predetermined geographic location.
 22. A systemfor automatically connecting proximately located telecommunication units(TU), comprising: a processor; memory for storing computer readableinstructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system toperform the step of connecting a first TU to at least one other TU whenthe first and at least one other TUs are within a first predetermineddistance of each other and are within a second predetermined distance ofa predetermined geographic location.
 23. The system of claim 22, whereinthe at least one other TU is selected based at least in part onattribute information associated with each user of each TU.
 24. Thesystem of claim 22, wherein each TU is a mobile telecommunications unit.25. A method of transmitting data to a mobile telecommunication unit(MU), comprising: determining if the MU is within a predetermineddistance of a telecommunications unit (TU) associated with a type ofpredetermined geographic location selected by a user of the MU; andresponsive to the MU being within a predetermined distance of the TU,transmitting data to the MU, wherein the transmission of data to the MUis suppressed except during predefined time periods.
 26. A computerreadable medium in a system for transmitting data to a mobiletelecommunication unit (MU), having instructions contained thereon,which, when executed by a processor, cause the system to perform theoperations of: determining if the MU is within a predetermined distanceof a telecommunications unit (TU) associated with a type ofpredetermined geographic location selected by a user of the MU; andresponsive to the MU being within a predetermined distance of the TU,transmitting data to the MU, wherein the transmission of data to the MUis suppressed except during predefined time periods.
 27. A system fortransmitting data to a mobile telecommunications unit (MU), comprising:a processor; memory for storing computer readable instructions that,when executed by the processor, cause the system to perform theoperations of: determining if the MU is within a predetermined distanceof a telecommunications unit (TU) associated with a type ofpredetermined geographic location selected by a user of the MU; andresponsive to the MU being within a predetermined distance of the TU,transmitting data to the MU, wherein the transmission of data to the MUis suppressed except during predefined time periods.
 28. A method ofautomatically transmitting data to at least one of a plurality oftelecommunication units (TUs), comprising: determining if a first TU andat least one other TU are within a first predetermined distance of eachother; determining if the first TU and the at least one other TU arewithin a second predetermined distance of a predetermined geographiclocation; and responsive to the first and second TUs being within afirst predetermined distance of each other and within a secondpredetermined distance of a predetermined geographic location,transmitting data to at least one of the first and second TUs.
 29. Acomputer readable medium in a system for transmitting data to at leastone of a plurality of telecommunication units (TUs), having instructionscontained thereon, which, when executed by a processor, cause the systemto perform the operations of: determining if a first TU and at least oneother TU are within a first predetermined distance of each other;determining if the first TU and the at least one other TU are within asecond predetermined distance of a predetermined geographic location;and responsive to the first and second TUs being within a firstpredetermined distance of each other and within a second predetermineddistance of a predetermined geographic location, transmitting data to atleast one of the first and second TUs.
 30. A system for transmittingdata to at least one of a plurality of telecommunications units (TUs),comprising: a processor; memory for storing computer readableinstructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system toperform the operations of: determining if a first TU and at least oneother TU are within a first predetermined distance of each other;determining if the first TU and the at least one other TU are within asecond predetermined distance of a predetermined geographic location;and responsive to the first and second TUs being within a firstpredetermined distance of each other and within a second predetermineddistance of a predetermined geographic location, transmitting data to atleast one of the first and second TUs.